Safety mat with target for diving boards



April 13, 1965 w. GABRIELSEN ETAL 3,178,333

SAFETY MAT WITH TARGET. FOR DIVING BOARDS Filed Dec. 12, 1961 United States Patent 3,178,333 SAFETY MAT WITH TARGET FOR DHVING BOARDS Brarnweli W. Gahrielsen, 290 King Ave, and James E. Dye, 2092 Jefferson, both of Athens, Ga. Filed Dec. 12, 1961, Ser. No. 158,754 1 Claim. (Cl. 161162) This invention relates to springboards of the type used in competitive diving events in organized competition and for recreation purposes and the like. More particularly, this invention relates to a safety mat for the outboard ends of such diving boards.

Springboards for organized diving competition as well as for recreational use are well-known in the art. :Fhe prior art springboard constructions range from one-piece wood plankings, laminated Wood structures, fiber glasscovered wood springboards, to various recent developments wherein diverse designs of metal springboards have been provided. Some of the more recent improvements in this art have utilized extrusions as Well as lamination techniques in their construction. Additionally, the materials utilized in such structures have ranged from, of course, wood to aluminum as well as other materials. Most recently, springboards have been proposed which preferably utilize stainless steel construction throughout, such as disclosed in our copending application Serial No. 71,633, now Patent No. 3,058,743, filed November 25, 1960, which application is a continuation-in-part of application Serial No. 844,593, filed October 5, 1959, now abandoned.

With any type of springboard, and most particularly with those of metallic construction, there is present the danger that if the diver accidentally strikes the board, he may receive serious bruises or cuts. Obviously, this is especially true of the outboard end of the springboards where effects of the resiliency and spring-like action of the boards are most apparent.

It is well-known to cover springboards with non-slip surfaces. The conventional cocoa matting is bulky and therefore not in harmony with the trim lines of the newer metal boards. For such boards, it has been proposed to cover the entire board with synthetic material having a permanently roughened surface. However, these covers have little or no resiliency and offer no protection against injury should a portion of the divers body accidentally strike the board.

It is disclosed in our aforementioned copending application Serial No. 71,633 to provide a protective safety cover of, for example, synthetic rubber or the like, said safety cover protecting the diver from inadvertant injury on the edge of the springboard. However, the synthetic rubber is inherently subject to tearing or breaking with continued use and therefore does not retain its effectiveness over extended periods of time. Moreover, the synthetic rubber cover lacks the non-skid characteristics, especially when wet, which are so important in assuring safety of the diver.

It is, accordingly, an object of this invention to provide an improved safety mat for springboards.

It is another object of this invention to provide such a safety mat which has both resilience to prevent injury if struck by a diver and a non-slip surface to assure safe footing.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a safety mat which may be affixed to a springboard at time of manufacture or which may be furnished as a separate unit as replacement or for adaptation of any springboard.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a safety mat which may be modified to provide a target for use of divers.

3,178,333 Patented Apr. 13, 1965 These and other objects of this invention will be fully understood from the following detailed description of a typical preferred form and application of the invention, throughout which description reference is made to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the outboard end of a springboard having attached thereto a safety mat according to this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary perspective view with parts broken away of the board illustrated in FIGURE 1 showing the internal construction of the safety mat;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of the board shown in FIGURE 1 and taken along line 3--3 thereof;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the construction shown in FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 5 is a partial side elevation view of a modification of the springboard and safety mat shown in FIGURE 1.

Reference is made now to the drawings, and specifically to FIGURE 1 wherein there is shown a springboard 19, fixedly secured to a rear supporting member not shown. On the outboard end of springboard 10 is disposed a laminated protective safety mat, generally 12. In the embodiment shown in FIGURE 1 there is aflixed to safety mat 12 at the extreme outboard end thereof a rectangular patch 14 of a synthetic sheet material. Patch 14 is preferably of a color contrasting to that of safety mat 12 and functions as a target in view of the diver as he approaches the outboard end of the springboard.

Referring now to FIGURE 2, the structure of safety mat 12 according to one embodiment of this invention is shown, this structure being particularly suited for springboards formed of metals. Springboard 10 is spread With a layer 20 of a waterproof adhesive such as Safety- Walk brand adhesive available from Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company of St. Paul, Minnesota. There is affixed thereto a pad 22 of nonabsorbent, resilient, flexible rubber, either natural or synthetic. An example of a material which may be used for pad 22. is Rubatex which is an expanded hard rubber form of insulation provided by the Rubatex Division, Great American Industries, Inc., of Bedford, Va. As can be seen in FIGURES 2 and 5, pad 22 covers the top of springboard 10 at the outboard end and extends down the three exposed sides thereof to the bottom. A second layer 20a of adhesive is applied to the outer surface of pad 22 and there is aflixed thereto a sheet 24 of flexible material which completely covers pad 22 and extends a short distance toward the inboard end of springboard 10. As can be seen in FIGURE 2, the portion of sheet 24 which extends beyond pad 22 is affixed directly to the surface of springboard 10. Sheet 24 has a roughened upper surface 24a (seen best in FIGURE 4). A suitable material for sheet 24 is Scotch-Tred which is a rough finish latex sheet material also available from the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company. As explained heretofore, rectangular patch 14- overlies sheet 24 and is aflixed thereto by means of a further layer 20b of adhesive. Patch 14 is of a special composition which has a roughened surface of coarse grit and is similar to sandpaper. An example of a material which may be used is one also produced by the Minnesota Mining and Manufactoring Company under the name Safety-Walk which has a rough grit surface on one side and an adhesive surface on the other. As explained heretofore, patch 14 may be of a contrasting color to that of sheet 24 to serve the two-fold function of furnishing a target for the diver and providing an effective non-slip surface at the outboard end of springboard 10 whether the surface is wet or dry.

In the embodiment described above, laminated mat 12 is produced directly on springboard 10. It is to be understood that mat 12 may be assembled apart from the springboard. In this instance, pad 22 is spread with layer 20a of adhesive and sheet 24 applied thereto. When desired, patch 14 is also afiixed at this time. The laminated mat 12 may then be used as a replacement unit or to adapt any existing springboard to provide the safety features taught herein. The laminated mat 12 is adhered to the springboard by means of layer 20 of waterproof adhesive.

Referring now to FIGURE 3, a cross-section of laminated safety mat 12 is depicted showing springboard 10, adhesive layer 29, pad 22, adhesive layer 20a, sheet 24, adhesive layer 20b and patch 14. Additionally, there are shown strips 26 of a Waterproof sealing material. The sealing material is applied to all of the exposed ends of pad 22, sheet 24 and strip 14 as shown by the arrows in FIGURE 2. The strips 26 of sealing material, such as Safety-Walk special beading sealer produced by the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company fulfill the purpose of assuring that no Water may enter between the laminae of safety mat 12 or between mat 12 and springboard 19.

In the modification shown in FIGURE 5, band 28 of metal is placed adjacent the parallel sides of safety mat 12 on springboard 10. The metal band 28 is attached to springboard 10 by means of fasteners 30, which may be bolts or screws, etc., and which pass through mat 12 to the springboard. If preferred, band 28 may extend entirely around the three sides of safety mat 12 as suggested by dotted lines 32. Band 23 may be used as an added precaution to keep safety mat 12 from peeling or from otherwise being removed from springboard 10.

While several embodiments of the invention are shown, it will be appreciated that the novel features included herein may be used interchangeably in the various embodiments.

The safety mat provided by this invention may be used with substantially all existing springboards. Conventionally, springboards measure about 20 inches in width and vary in length from about 6 feet to 16'feet. In a preferred embodiment, the safety mat covers about 20 inches in length at the outboard end of a springboard.

and the three depending sides thereof and patch 14 will measure about 11 by 14 inches. Pad 22 may be about ,4 inch in thickness While sheet 24 and patch 14 will be about inch in thickness each. Band 28 will usually not exceed /2 inch in width.

It will, therefore, be seen that there has been provided by this invention a construction in which the various objects hereinbefore set forth, together with many practical advantages, are successfully achieved.

As various possible embodiments may be made of the features of this invention, all without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matters herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawing are to be interpreted in an illustrative, and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

A laminated safety mat for use with a springboard comprising: a pad of non-absorbent, resilient, flexible rubber having a free inboard edge and three depending sides for engaging the outboard end and sides of a springboard;'a flexible latex sheet having a permanently roughened outer surface bonded to and completely covering the entire outer surface of the pad, said latex sheet extending beyond said inboard edge of said pad for engaging the top of the springboard; a non-skid patch of contrasting color bonded to the upper surface of said sheet close to the-outboard end thereof, said patch being of lesser Width and lesser length than said pad and being constructed of flexible material having coarse grit emeddcd in its upper surface, said patch and said sheet being of substantially less thickness than said pad.

ReferencesCited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,021,522 11/35 Schacht 15449.2 2,057,873 10/36 Atwood 15449 2,165,955 7/39 Haarhoif 154--49.2 2,807,468 9/57 Patterson 272-66 2,940,887 6/60 Daly et al 154-492 3,030,251 4/62 LaBore et al. l6l162 3,035,837 5/62 Austin 272--66 EARL M. BERGERT, Primary Examiner. 

